Public Profile

Gregory E.

Reviews

Rattray's - Stirling Flake 50g
Good burley flake
Very similar to MacBaron HH Burley Flake. Which is also a great product.

Mac Baren - HH Burley Flake 1.75oz
Fantastic
A really nice blend that brings the best of burley and the nice Smokey spice of Kentucky. I bought a pound of it after smoking it for a few weeks. A staple.

Sutliff - Crumble Kake Barrel Aged Series No.5 Rustica Limited Edition 50g
Great stuff
The tin note is interesting. Half bakery, Half barnyard. Mine was very dry but I guess that it's meant to be. Smokes great tastes great. Much smoother than I expected based on the description. But the nice hit is as advertised. You could light a small city with this stuff.

Erik Stokkebye 4th Generation - Small Batch Resolution 2oz
Good
Not great though. I can't help but feeling that the casing or topping isn't helping. It's borderline aromatic. I think I'd like it better without.

Hearth & Home - First Snow 1.75oz
I like it
If you like your coffee extra strong this is for you. Deep and dark and strong. The Kentucky seems like the star. A bit of nutty burley and a bit of sweetness.

Seattle Pipe Club - Virginia Jazz 2oz
Wow!
Fantastic. Sweet and sour. Figs and pastry. Great stuff!

Cornell & Diehl - Shandygaff
So..
I held off reviewing this. It does have unique strong taste. I don't think I would call it ginger but the taste of ginger is in the neighbourhood. All said it is good but strong with that unique semi floral note. I enjoy it but a large bowl of it can be nearly overwhelming. It is best smoked pretty dry. Borderline crispy. I enjoy it as an occasional smoke.

Cornell & Diehl - Riverboat Gambler 2oz
Pleasant Surprise
I bought this on a whim during the C&D sale. I found this to be a very nice burley forward blend. Very smooth and easy smoking. Lots of flavor.

Former - Cross Grain Flake 50g
The best
My favorite vaper by far. I'm generally more of a burley and English smoker but this stuff is amazing. Smells like baked goods in the tin and it smokes magnificently. Sweet and spicy. Perfection.

Cornell & Diehl - Pegasus
Oh Wow!
Now that is special. Smooth and sweet. A keeper for sure. I would add that mine arrived a bit moist. I've found that it is critical that burley be a bit more dry. If not it is a chore to keep lit. And multiple relights bring out the inherent bitterness. Given a bit of drying time this blend sips wonderfully and is smooth as silk. Perhaps as suggested a wide shallow pipe (tomato) would help as well.

Iwan Ries - Three Star Blue 1.5oz
Not bad
I wish it didn't have the casing but it's pretty decent.

Cornell & Diehl - Burley Flake #1 2oz
The best side of burley
Brings out the sweet and nutty essence and very little bitter. Toasty goodness. Not sure if it's the best of the CD Burley flakes or not. It's the first I've tried but it's a winner.

Cornell & Diehl - Mississippi Mud 2oz
Tobacco Candy
I get a lot of sweetness. I don't get a lot of latakia smokiness. Mostly a chocolate type sweetness. It's good.

Cornell & Diehl - Old Joe Krantz
My favorite Burley
The Virginia and Perique rounds out the burley bite nicely.

Cornell & Diehl - Billy Budd
Oh Baby!
That is nice. I love English blends with a twist. This succeeds. A very nice indescribable spice taste behind the familiar taste. The oriental tobacco tang is absent. The burley is there but not overpowering. Very great.

Seattle Pipe Club - Plum Pudding 2oz
Good stuff
Balanced and delicious. As advertised. An excellent blend with a bit of cavendish for sweetness. Definitely a keeper

Mac Baren - HH Old Dark Fired Ready Rubbed
Fantastic!
Looks and smells like shredded bbq beef. Excellent with strong coffee with cream. The second half of the bowl is magnificent. It does pack a nicotine wallop. Needs to dry some. Best when it is a bit crispy.

Hearth & Home - Cerberus 1.75oz
Very interesting
I like this a lot. It has the usual English taste but there is a wonderful spicy cinnamon semi floral note to it. Very smooth. Excellent.

Hearth & Home - Viprati 1.75oz
I get it
I don't have much experience with "vapers" but wow. This stuff is very special. Probably even better with age. Love it!

Cornell & Diehl - Haunted Bookshop
Pretty good
It seems like people love or hate HBS. Personally I find it OK. One thing I notice is that the smell in the bag is almost identical to leaf chewing tobacco. Red Man or Levy Garret. It was a bit over moist on arrival so the burn on the first bowl was a bit troublesome. I spread some out to dry for an hour and it improved. I can smoke it and enjoy it but it's just OK.

Peter Stokkebye - PS52 Proper English
Good
Not my favorite English, but darn good. EDIT: OK scratch that. This stuff has really grown on me. Two things happened. The tobacco got a bit of time in the humidor and I got away from smoking primarily English blends. I've smoked it with my morning coffee 2 mornings in a row and I have really taken to this blend. The balance makes for that magical English "thing". Sort of a smoked black licorice vibe. I will be keeping this on hand. It got better.

Sutliff - Balkan II
Oriental
Predominantly oriental in flavor. Sour is the predominant note. Latakia is present in the bag smell but it fades in flavor behind the strong oriental presence. This is not unexpected in a Balkan blend. So it is as advertised. It burns very well. Overall it's a decent Balkan.

Sutliff - Maple Street 1.5oz
It's ok
Mildly maple flavored. It's slightly sour and has a bit of bite, both of which will probably mellow a bit with some drying. The room note is very good. The burn is so so, again probably owing to being slightly moist. It's a decent smoke but not something I'm likely to reorder.

Sutliff - Honey & Chocolate
Really chocolate
Aromatics can sound great on paper and then disappoint. Who doesn't like honey and chocolate? But if it's a Yankee candle version of honey and chocolate you are smoking air freshener. This stuff is the real thing. The room note is off the scale. So chocolatey! And yes you actually get a nice genuine cocoa taste, which compliments the tobacco blend perfectly. It seems a bit moist on arrival, but that's not atypical for a cased blend. It burns fine without drying and has no bite. I'm loving it with my morning coffee. Great stuff. And overall I'd call myself an English smoker who likes the occasional aro.

Sutliff - Match 20
Complex
Sometimes latakia has that campfire smoke. Other times the smoke is just like scotch whiskey. Like smoked peat. This is the later. It starts heavy latakia and then settles into something more balanced. Burns perfect and by mid bowl it sips perfectly. I never had the original, but this stuff is great.

G. L. Pease - Maltese Falcon 2oz
As advertised
Dank toasty english goodness.

Newminster - No.80 Norway Pipe Cut
Burns good
It burns very well. That's the best thing I can say. The taste is one note. And it's not a good note. I enjoyed the Oriental Pipe Cut but this one, not so much. EDIT: It improves with a bit of time. If it's smoked slow and in the proper pipe, the Orientals shine through. If it burns hot it's harsh. I use a tall poker and sip it. Like that it's a decent smoke. Not complex or interesting but not bad.

Newminster - No.84 Oriental Pipe Cut
Good
Just nice Virginia with a background sour spice. It arrived slightly dry but that's OK. A night in the humi with a moisture puck will straighten it out fine. It smokes nice and it's a perfect break from my other blends. Nothing special. Just good tobacco flavor.

Sutliff - 150 Mark Twain
Positive verdict
I held off reviewing this for a bit. I've been wading into the shallow end of the aromatics pool. I'm starting to get it. This has the black cav forward vibe, which seems to me to be that grand dad pipe smell, not immediately my favorite but it's growing on me. It's a sipping blend. With a nice subtle sweetness. And most important my wife doesn't complain that it smells like barbequed road kill, which she did say about my pirate kake.

Five Brothers - Five Brothers 1.25oz
Does the job
I ran out of my GLP Penny Farthing which I liked. I wanted to find another shag cut. I find that shag cuts are good to mix with ribbon (or on it's own). This is a very decent smoke and it's very inexpensive. I will definitely keep it on hand from now on. I've had several bowls on it's own and I'm smoking it now mixed with a nice aromatic blend. That is really nice. I'm not fond of full strength aromatics. This cuts it nicely. EDIT: Bear in mind I'm a cigar smoker dipping into the pipe world. If you are a lover of sweet pipe blends this won't work. The last quarter of the bowl is strong like the last bit of a cigar.

Cornell & Diehl - Founding Fathers
Solid
Nice room note but not overly flavored. Nice moderately strong tobacco. Very nice after dinner smoke.

G. L. Pease - JackKnife Plug 2oz
Nice!
Like a maduro cigar. Including the little pins and needles on the tongue thing. Dark, woody and delicious.

Cornell & Diehl - Pirate Kake 2oz
I like it
Just received it in the mail. Rubbed out a bowl and packed it straight away with no drying. It burns fine and it has a very nice wood and leather thing. Just what I like. Recommended. Edit: It should have a bit of dry time. I was inpatient. It burns fine right off the kake but becomes a very tiny touch ammoniated by the end of the bowl owing to being over moist. Even then it's a very nice smoke.

G. L. Pease - Penny Farthing 2oz
Good for what it is
I'm familiar with this from my brick and mortar shop. It's the most cigarette like of any blend I've had. I'd be hard pressed to name anything of the flavor wheel. But that makes it one of my favorites to have with my morning coffee. It doesn't demand attention. It has a nice but not overpowering nicotine kick.